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My name is Rachel Corrie

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Suleyman View Drop Down
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    Posted: 01 May 2005 at 6:35am
Gaza activist's life becomes play
By Kate McGeown
BBC News

Megan Dodds as Rachel Corrie image courtesy of the Royal Court theatre
Megan Dodds conveys Corrie's passion for justice
What would induce a young woman to leave her small American town to fight for the rights of a group of people she hardly knew?

In My Name is Rachel Corrie - the story of the life, and death, of a 23-year-old peace activist in Gaza - we find out.

On 16 March 2003, Corrie's life came to an abrupt end when she was crushed by an Israeli Army bulldozer while trying to stop the demolition of a Palestinian building in the Rafah refugee camp.

She left behind a series of diaries, written from when she was 12, as well as emails from her time in Gaza.

It is these that form the basis of the play, which is directed by Alan Rickman and currently being staged at London's Royal Court theatre.

From the opening of the play - with Corrie lying on her bed, looking back at the roots of her desire to help the world's less fortunate - to her experiences of conflict-ridden Gaza, we see the real person behind the activist.

We hear of her attempts to win back an old boyfriend, her contrasting feelings of love and frustration towards her parents, her messiness and incessant list-making and even the irony of watching the film Pet Sematary in a house which had bullet holes in the walls.

Rachel Corrie

She also gives an insight into the ordinary lives of Palestinians who are constantly fearful that their homes will be destroyed by Israeli tanks.

Her diary records the endless wait at Israeli checkpoints and the bravery of those who insisted on improving their bullet-ridden surroundings, as well as the little things - a local woman's concern when she became ill with flu and the glow-in-the-dark stickers in a teenager's bedroom.

The play revolves around one person and therefore only needs one voice, that of Corrie herself, played magnificently by Megan Dodds.

She manages to convey both the youthful exuberance and the outrage at the world's injustices that characterised Corrie's life.

The set, designed by Hildegard Bechtler, seamlessly switches from a bedroom in Olympia, Washington, to a bullet-ridden Palestinian home, via an internet caf�.

But what stands out above everything is Corrie's character - her hopes and fears, her insecurities at being in such a dangerous place and her unquenchable conviction that there was something she could do to help.

'Exceptionally brave'

This play does not attempt to turn Corrie into a saint. Indeed in her early years, she sometimes comes across as being quite big-headed - even downright arrogant at times - a fact she freely admitted in later life.

But it does leave you feeling that this was an exceptionally brave young woman. Many people want to make the world a better place, but few struggle so single-mindedly to achieve it.

My Name is Rachel Corrie is undoubtedly controversial, as is almost any form of art based on the politics of the Middle East.

Don't expect an unbiased view of the conflict - this is one young woman's view of the situation, and what she saw was intense suffering and tragedy among the Palestinian community in southern Gaza.

But what the play does give is a uniquely personal account of the short life of someone who felt driven to help the oppressed - a quest that took her to a land far from home, into a dispute she knew little about.

Rachel Corrie may have died more that two years ago, but this play looks set to keep her legacy alive for many years to come.

My Name is Rachel Corrie is at London's Royal Court theatre until 30 April.

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Suleyman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suleyman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 May 2005 at 6:37am
Activist who died for conviction
Rachel Corrie
Rachel Corrie: Her father Craig says he is proud of her
Rachel Corrie, the American killed by an Israeli army bulldozer, was a committed peace activist even before her arrival in the Gaza Strip a few months ago.

She was a student at Evergreen State College in her local town of Olympia in Washington State, which is known for its liberal sensibilities.

The 23-year-old arranged peace events there before joining, through local group Olympians for Peace and Solidarity, a Palestinian-led organisation that uses non-violent means to challenge Israeli army tactics in the West Bank and Gaza.

Her parents have paid tribute to her concern for human rights and dignity, remembering how she was "dedicated to everybody".

They spoke hours after Ms Corrie died in hospital on Sunday from injuries suffered when she was hit by an armoured Israeli army bulldozer in the southern Gaza Strip.

Troops attacked

She was with other activists from the International Solidarity Movement trying to stop the demolition of a Palestinian building in the Rafah refugee camp.

The Israelis say such tactics are necessary because Palestinian gunmen use the structures as cover to shoot at their troops patrolling in the area.

For Palestinians... this is not a nightmare but a continuous reality from which international privilege cannot protect them
Rachel Corrie
Ms Corrie - who was wearing an orange fluorescent jacket to alert the bulldozer drivers to her presence in pictures taken by her colleagues on Sunday - had previously described the hazards of her work.

An email despatch details a confrontation on 14 February between another bulldozer and her own group, which she refers to as the "internationals".

"The internationals stood in the path of the bulldozer and were physically pushed with the shovel backwards, taking shelter in a house.

"The bulldozer then proceeded on its course, demolishing one side of the house with the internationals inside," she wrote in the email distributed by the International Solidarity Movement.

Vigil for Rachel Corrie in Olympia
Ms Corrie was active in the peace movement at home
Her father Craig Corrie, speaking to the AP news agency from his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, said: "We've tried to bring up our children to have a sense of community, a sense of community that everybody in the world belonged to.

"Rachel believed that - with her life, now."

He said that he and his wife were still trying to find out the details of what happened.

"Rachel was proud, and we are proud of Rachel that she was able to live with her convictions.

"Rachel was filled with a love and sense of duty to our fellow man, wherever they lived, and she gave her life trying to protect those that could not protect themselves."

Death vigil

Ms Corrie's mother Cindy said her daughter had spent nights sleeping at wells to protect them from bulldozers.

"She lived with families whose houses were threatened with demolition and today as we understand it, she stood for three hours trying to protect a house."

The grief at her death amongst the community in Olympia was shown on Sunday when several hundred people turned out for a previously scheduled peace vigil that turned into an impromptu memorial.

Mourners held candles and photocopied pictures of her with the word "Peacemaker", as well as banners urging the United States to stop aid to Israel and avoid war with Iraq.

The Vice President of Student Affairs at Evergreen State College, Art Costantino says on his online notive of her death that she was a "shining star, a wonderful student and a brave person of deep convictions".

Larry Mosqueda, one of Ms Corrie's Evergreen professors and a fellow activist said: "She was concerned about human rights and dignity. That's why she was there."





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Daniel Dworsky View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Daniel Dworsky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 May 2005 at 6:50am
Very good.
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ummziba View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ummziba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 May 2005 at 8:16am

Rachel Corrie was a beautiful example of a human being who didn't just wish the world was different, she actually tried to do something about it.  This world needs more like her.  Thanks for the posts Suleyman!

Peace, ummziba.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words...they break my soul ~
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Suleyman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suleyman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 May 2005 at 8:21am
Originally posted by ummziba ummziba wrote:

Rachel Corrie was a beautiful example of a human being who didn't just wish the world was different, she actually tried to do something about it.  This world needs more like her.  Thanks for the posts Suleyman!

Peace, ummziba.

Agreed, 

 Jazak Allah Khair,may Allah bless her soul...Wa Salaam...

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Daniel Dworsky View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Daniel Dworsky Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 May 2005 at 10:26am
   Regarding Rachel
http://cdbaby.com/cd/dworsky2
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Suleyman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suleyman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 May 2005 at 11:01am

[QUOTE=Daniel Dworsky]   Regarding Rachel
http://cdbaby.com/cd/dworsky2[/QUOTE]

From Rachel Tuesday March 18, 2003

February 8 2003
I got a number of very thoughtful responses to the email I sent out last night, most of which I don't have time to respond to right now. Thanks everyone for the encouragement, questions, criticism. Daniel's response was particularly inspiring to me and deserves to be shared. The resistance of Israeli Jewish people to the occupation and the enormous risk taken by those refusing to serve in the Israeli military offers an example, especially for those of us living in the United States, of how to behave when you discover that atrocities are being commited in your name. Thank you.

 Subhan'Allah,Daniel Dworsky is the man Rachel was talking about...Daniel will u keep on amazing us?,i apologize but i can't trust my heart...Best Regards!

 

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Suleyman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suleyman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 May 2005 at 11:06am

Brother,i have to confess that i am the fan of you;especially on Tiny Hands,wonderful!!!...

 Daniel,do you know Ziggy Marley who is the son of Bob Marley...i am the member of his chat board,would you like to meet with him?...i know some of the users has an connection with the destiny music co.;Rebel Music...

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